


when the night changes

by glimbows



Series: glimbow week 2020 [4]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/M, Glimbow Week 2020, Missing Scene, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power Canon Compliant, and write them being all cuddly in bed, but really just an excuse for me to ramble on about them, light angst at certain points but this one is a happy ending i swear, or multiple but, pre canon and canon AND post canon scenes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:20:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26345509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glimbows/pseuds/glimbows
Summary: In one not-so-dainty flop, Glimmer rolls to the side. The cupcake wrappers give a slight crackle from underneath her, but she ignores them, enjoying her own joke and the company of her best (her only) friend too much to care. She’s fully leant up against him then, the soft of her sides pushing against his arm.And in that moment, despite how young he is, Bow knows what he wants for the rest of his life.or,Five times Bow and Glimmer wake up side by side.(for the glimbow week prompt "touch/cuddling.")
Relationships: Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Series: glimbow week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1909897
Comments: 16
Kudos: 66
Collections: Glimbow Week 2020





	when the night changes

**Author's Note:**

> for the glimbow week prompt "touch/cuddling."
> 
> and also for those i have wronged with my previous angst fics. this one is for you 
> 
> title from night changes by one direction

Glimmer wakes up with one of her legs half-dangling over the side of her bed. Beside her lays three things: the pillow she has pretty much fallen off of, a handful of cupcake sleeves, and Bow, snoring softly. 

The princess takes a minute to stare at him. 

She’s never seen Bow asleep like this. It’s not a nap sleep, but a sleep sleep— which was much different from the quick naps they’d take under trees after running each other ragged. Before last night, they’d only ever hung out on the green of the courtyard under the morning light of the first moon. That same light assaults her now, and after blinking away the sleep in her eyes, she notices something else. 

Bow isn’t just sleeping; he’s drooling on her pillow. 

“Bow!” She barks, though it comes out a hoarse whisper, morning’s revenge for trying to talk to soon after waking up. 

When that doesn’t work, she opts to give him a harsh shove that moves the arm he’s resting his head on out from under him. 

“Hnnnngh— huh?” His head rises dumbly. Bow smacks his lips and mumbles, eyes heavy. “What?” 

“You’re drooling! And being gross!” Glimmer wastes no time yanking the pillow out from under Bow, which doesn’t faze him in the slightest. Instead, he simply gives her a smile and rubs his face. 

“Soooooorry.” 

The pillow falls all the way down to the floor, which is in even more disarray than the bed. Remnants from their first real sleepover remain scattered about Glimmer’s room, little reminders of all the fun they’d had. There’s a mess of crayons and crudely drawn archery targets, as well as an overturned, half-empty bottle of nail polish; within it, a pink color that now graces both their hands. 

The window is still open from where Bow had managed to climb in, a feat the princess can’t believe they accomplished without waking her mother. She’d used her powers, finicky as they were, to teleport him across the moat, and then, up to her window ledge. From there, she had popped inside and pulled him in. 

Which was, reflecting back on it, extremely dangerous. 

And also extremely cool. 

Sleepovers, she had come to realize, were also extremely cool. 

“My stomach hurts,” He grumbles, though there’s a big, stupid smile on his face. Glimmer shoves some of the sweets wrappers towards him. 

“That’s ‘cause you had like, half a million cupcakes. You’re not allowed to yell at me anymore when I steal candy from the kitchen cause that would make you a... hippo-crate.” 

“A what?” 

“I dunno,” Glimmer shrugs. “My mom says it a lot when I yell at her for yelling at me.” 

It sounds even funnier in the Queen’s accent, something her daughter could never replicate with enough punch. She tries, though, and gives a few squawks before collapsing back over on her side in a fit of giggles. Bow’s face ends up right in front of hers. 

They share a glance, silly reflections of each other as their cheeks smush against the plushness of the bed.  Glimmer’s hair is somehow even fluffier in the morning, Bow notes, like a cute little mountain of cotton candy. For a split second, the thought of running a hand through it crosses his mind. 

Instead, he rubs at his face. With a palm pressed against his one cheek and the other hidden in the mattress, his blush is fully hidden. 

“It’s a funny word.” 

“Hippo-crate.” Glimmer says again, this time in her own sweet voice rather than Angella’s posh, exaggerated one. 

“That’s not really it,” 

She only giggles harder, as does he, but because the butterflies flitting around in his stomach force it out of him. 

In one not-so-dainty flop, Glimmer rolls to the side. The cupcake wrappers give a slight crackle from underneath her, but she ignores them, enjoying her own joke and the company of her best (her only) friend too much to care. She’s fully leant up against him then, the soft of her sides pushing against his arm. 

And in that moment, despite how young he is, Bow knows what he wants for the rest of his life. 

_ (Sleepovers. Lots and lots of sleepovers.)  _

* * *

Their battle planning meeting had run late. 

It really, after a full day of running around in the Northern Reach chasing around an infected Adora, should’ve been cancelled altogether — but Commander Glimmer was far too stubborn to let some frostbite stop her. She had glasses of hot chocolate made for herself and Bow, who was instructed to set up his tracker-pad in the war room. 

Soon enough Queen Angella, worried they were running themselves ragged, had kicked them out, which meant they had to haul ass to Glimmer’s bed instead. 

The last thing Bow remembers before falling asleep is his best friend’s soft snores, which were very noticeable when compared to the way she was yawning out orders only a few minutes before. 

He rises now, early as always, to the sight of his dead tracker-pad. Bow silently curses himself for leaving it on all night, well aware that he’ll have to climb out of bed and walk all the way to the war room to charge it back up. 

Daybreak calls as it always does, but when he attempts to push himself up into a sitting position, he feels an unmistakable weight pressing his right arm down. And it’s not a pillow, not a blanket, not a stuffed animal— but Glimmer, fast asleep against his bicep, one of her arms lazily slung around his as to keep him from trying to leave.

Bow feels his heart pick up in his chest, beating a tune so strong it ignites his cheeks in a warm pink glow. Slowly, he lowers himself back down against the bed, watching her head roll slightly to the side with the gentle movement. It’s only when he feels his chest touch the sheets again that he exhales.

It’s no secret that he’s in love with her. It never has been, and never will be, even though he refrains from saying anything. Now simply isn’t the right time to do so. Maybe someday they’ll wake up together in a world with no war, but for now, it’s a desperate attempt to outwit the Horde that put them in this position at all. 

_ She tries so hard, _ he thinks as he watches her chest rise and fall.  _ She deserves to sleep in.  _

And if that means he’ll have to lay here until and after his arm falls asleep, then so be it. 

The waterfall trickling gently in the corner of the room keeps him company until Glimmer eventually stirs. It isn’t out of her own free will, but rather because her head lolls from his shoulder down to his forearm, the sudden movement snapping her from her slumber. 

“Glimmer?” Bow murmurs, a tinge of hope in his voice. He can’t quite pinpoint what he’s hoping for. Probably something along the lines of oh stars, I hope she doesn’t pull away, this is the most blissful I’ve felt in months.

The princess says something unintelligible, but her grip on his arm only gets tighter as she uses her wrist to push some of her hair out of her face. 

“Morning,” She finally articulates, chin coming to rest on his shoulder. Bow feels his heart leap up into his throat. “We fell asleep, didn’t we?”

“Either that or your mom came in and knocked us out.” 

Glimmer sighs, snuggling deeper into his arm. His bicep makes a surprisingly comfortable pillow. “Ugh. I really don’t feel like looking at supply line damage reports this early,” 

Bow looks in the direction of his tracker-pad, the screen blank and useless to them at the moment. He resigns his previous curses then, the late-night death of the device’s battery actually turning out to be a blessing in disguise. 

“We coooooould, y’know,” A small shrug. Damn, being aloof really wasn’t his style. “We could lay here a little bit longer.”

She raises an eyebrow, but the smugness on her face is wiped clean by a yawn. Glimmer sinks back against him, always unable to deny his puppy dog face. Its been her kryptonite since they were seven and only got more powerful over time. 

_ I love you, I love you, I love you,  _ his heart hammers over and over again. 

“Wake me up when you’re hungry enough to go get breakfast.” 

* * *

Bow is the only person who’s been able to come and see her consistently. 

Most of the time, her bedroom door is locked. When he knocks his special knock, two raps, a beat, and another two, he’s let inside what can only be defined as a closet. The window he used to climb through has been covered by a curtain, omitting any moonlight from the room. Her desk is covered in piles of unwashed clothes, the books and beauty supplies that once resided there shoved in random nooks and crannies to give some semblance of order. 

He’s tried to clean it for her on multiple occasions, but there’s always a more pressing matter. 

An angry outburst. A near-hysteric laughing fit, code for denial. A sudden tsunami of tears. 

Its been a week and a half since Angella sacrificed herself, and the laundry can wait. Glimmer, bursting apart at her hastily stitched seams, can’t. 

She’s grateful for him, even if it is endlessly embarrassing to be seen in such a state. Bow is, aside from her Aunt Castaspella, who is only so much help, the only common thread back home to her heart she has. Not even him, with all his different kind of strengths, can lift the weight from her shoulders— but it’s still easier to sleep once and awhile when he’s there rubbing her back. 

The mornings are a gamble now. Her wake-up time depends fully on whatever facet of grief decides to take her by the throat that day. Up first, the princess already has a headache, so she buries her face further into Bow’s chest as to plunge herself into as much pitch-blackness as possible. 

At least he isn’t awake to see her cry. It’s very rare that she rises before he does. 

Glimmer’s small fantasy is shattered when she feels his hand, steady and soft, grow heavy on her back. She blinks up at him through a sheen of tears, lip quivering furiously as she bites back her tears, ready to apologize for waking him. 

But his eyes are closed, and there’s a peaceful, if not slightly sad smile gracing his handsome features. 

It seems there are pockets of her body that the grief doesn’t reach. She almost wishes that wasn’t the case, because the head rush she gets from being held so tight in his arms is more confusing than grieving her dead mom. 

She still can’t tell if he’s awake or not, but she doesn’t pester him to find out. Instead, she rests her head back against his chest, heavy eyelids needing no excuse to fall shut. Bow’s palm continues to graze her back. 

No matter what, it’s pure instinct. He can sense her discomfort no matter what plane of consciousness he’s on, a talent that comes from lying beside her for so many years. For better and through worse, she’s tethered to him. 

Bow remembers hearing her talk about changing her hair for her upcoming coronation.  He knows that a simple haircut can’t compare to the late queen, but there’s still something in him that begins to mourn the fluff in that moment. The archer brings himself to do something he’s done before, but always wants to do more. It’s something that feels more intimate than their regular, everyday touchiness. It’s something that will hopefully bring her an inkling of comfort. 

Strong fingers walk up her back towards the cotton candy peaks of her head. The princess looks up then, suddenly realizing that she was second to wake up after all as his hands run slowly through her cloud of hair. 

And it’s just the sweetest feeling in the world. It’s not what she needs, but it’s close enough, as what she needs is currently trapped between dimensions somewhere. As far as substitutes go, Bow isn’t a bad deal. 

He’s the best-case scenario, actually. 

Fresh tears prick at her eyes, but his gentle brush lets her know that she doesn’t have to be afraid. Even when the night changes, he will be there for her to rely on. 

“Stay here,” She hiccups, mind racing with the thought of all to come in the next few weeks. “Stay here.” 

Bow moves his hand around the back of her head and gently pushes her against him. Their eyes close, but they trust each other to stay. 

“I will. Always.”

* * *

It’s been months since he’s felt her presence at his side. And he isn’t sure, at the moment, if he wants her there or not. 

Bow has realized that time is a lot harder to keep track of in space. The constant night sky throws his body out of whack, and he’s always tired, though that may be a side effect of everything they’ve been going through. Glimmer thinks the opposite, as she counts in her head every minute he spends halfway across the control room, head pointedly in whatever direction is opposite from her. 

She knows he needs time. She respects that he needs time. But time is one of the things she thought she was running out of on Prime’s ship, a mindset that’s been hard to work herself out of. 

The worst of her nightmares comes the night after they infiltrate the flagship for Catra. Their victory was an exciting one, but the brief celebration they’d had after She-Ra’s return could only do so much. Glimmer can’t quite recall all the new details on Adora’s armor, but she can map out every square inch of her cell in her mind. 

When she wakes up from her latest unwelcome stay on the Velvet Glove, she expects to run down her flimsy list of affirmations again and resign herself to another sleepless night. But Bow, even in all his justified anger, has a lot of justified love within him as well. He can’t bear to lay still in his bunk while she thrashes around in hers. 

They don’t talk much as they settle against each other for the first time in a long time. What they do say is awkward, a fumbling half-conversation between two people too tired and too conflicted to work out all their nuances.  Instead of focusing on the way his voice still falls flat around her, the pair finds themselves consumed with silent wonder at the way they still, after all this time, notch together like two halves of the same sweet thing. 

It makes them want to cry, so they fall asleep instead, just close enough to toe the line between rigid and warm.

Once her eyelids flutter shut, Glimmer finds herself within her cell. It’s when she tries to move that she realizes the binds on her limbs. No matter how much she squirms, they don’t budge, so she opts for screaming instead. Her voice grows hoarse so much faster than it normally would, and her binds, goddamnit, her binds— they are only his arms. 

“Glimmer,” His fatigued voice echoes, bounces around in her head and pulls her back to reality. “Glimmer, hey!” 

A pathetic gasp escapes her, and the tears come soon after, soaking the front of his nightshirt as she gives up and leans against him. Bow holds her there a little looser than he could, but the concern is evident on his face as he continues to try and soothe her. 

It is no secret that she loves him. Glimmer isn’t trying to hide it anymore, but the words stutter in her throat like a skiff that just won’t lift off the ground. If he ever did love her before in a way that mirrors the butterflies she gets when he shoots an arrow, those butterflies are long dead. Yes, he comes back for her every time, but it’s only a matter of time before she chips him away entirely. 

Still, he’s here now. He may not be rubbing circles on her back, but he’s here, and she’s in his arms in the middle of outer space. 

“Bow,” Glimmer sniffs. “You stayed,” 

When he could’ve easily have gone the second she fell asleep. A quick check-in isn’t any big feat, but staying with her is. It always has been, some sprawling, impossible feat he’s managed with such grace. 

A sad smile crosses his face. There are bags under his eyes now, bags she’s never seen before. The Queen silently curses herself and vows to never take advantage of him ever again. 

He presses his head to hers. “I guess I did, huh?” 

* * *

Glimmer can’t even begin to describe how glorious it feels to, after what seems like a lifetime of cots and tents and bunks, sleep in the plushness of her own bed. 

There are new perks to doing so since the reclamation of Bright Moon. At night, stars dot the sky, and she has a perfect view of them from the right side of the bed. The left side now officially belongs to the next perk, the one that currently has his arms around her middle as he snores lightly into the crook of her neck. 

She savors it, plain and simple. Her waking up before him, though not impossible, probably won’t become a regular thing. The Queen closes her eyes, still not used to the new light of the sun, and waits patiently for the first sign that her boyfriend’s stirring.

It comes slow, unexpected, in the form of his lips lightly peppering her collarbone with little actual rhythm. Glimmer preens, a warm smile blooming on her lips as she tilts her head to the side. Bow wakes up more with each kiss, his girlfriend feeling his lips quirk up into a grin once he reaches her jaw. 

“Morning,” 

Knowing what his aim is, the Queen turns her head to capture his lips. When they pull away, it’s only barely. 

“Good morning,” 

“How’s it feel to be home?” 

She doesn’t make a move to look anywhere else but in his eyes. “Does it sound nuts if I say it feels like I never left?” 

“Hmm,” A quick shrug to mock her. “I mean, maybe a little bit, all things considered. But if you’re happy, what’s it matter?” 

At this moment, Glimmer can’t think of anything that matters more than he does. As if she’s been deprived of air, she leans back in to kiss him again, deep and tender. Not even an alien invasion could change her Bow, who still wore cropped pajama tops to maintain a brand that she’s extremely thankful for. She wiggles out of his grasp slightly just to turn in place and wrap her arms around his middle as he opts for propping himself up with an arm. 

“I’m very happy,” She murmurs. 

“Then that’s all that matters.” 

It’s almost hard to believe, as she kisses him so casually, that they’re in the same bed they once smuggled candy in as kids. Instead of making her feel like a teenager again, Bow reminds her that she’s not that old at all, that she still has a whole life before her. And while it may occasionally still include a late work night, it’ll be for the glory of Bright Moon rather than a fistfight to save it. 

Glimmer knows now what he has known since those days of troublemaking and note-passing: what she wants for the rest of her life. The answer is clear as the new sun, painted on her lips and sung out like a melody each time she’s lucky enough to meet his. 

“Bow,” She brings a hand to his cheek. “Mmm, stop— I wanna tell you something.” 

The archer leans back and admires the sight of her. He’s gotten used to her new hair, but harbors a fondness for the way it still fluffs up in the morning. “Yeah?” 

“I love you,” A string of words so intimidating, once so terrifying to even think of saying, rolls off her tongue and onto his as she leans in to kiss him again. “I love you.” 

“I love you too,” 

They continue, enjoying the plainness of their morning until a slight commotion is heard from the hallway. Glimmer has no doubt it’s the staff preparing for their first day in a long time with some routine. According to Castaspella, the first breakfast back is sure to be an event for the history books, an absolutely essential shindig for anyone and everyone in the rebellion. 

And they’ll get there. 

“What if we… were a little late?” 

“I like the way you think, your majesty.” 

Eventually. 

**Author's Note:**

> i was very tempted to just write that last scene for the entire fic, but i felt like i needed to earn it. 
> 
> if you're reading this and you've participated in glimbow week in any way, shape, or form (that includes commenting on fics), i love you. also, @spellbelle, thank you for putting up with all this glimbow nonsense, i love you most.
> 
> come and find me on tumblr @ gllimbow 💜✨


End file.
